What Do Shabbat and Social Justice Have in Common?
Even as Shabbat is a day of rest, it also has the power to agitate, and thus is a call to action, a call for us to respond to the injustices we see in our world.
How the Charlottesville March Reminded Me of My Favorite Havdalah Service
I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between their protest and our Havdalah services – and the deep differences those parallels represent.
Tune in to Services: What Are Reform Clergy Saying About Charlottesville?
Watch live this Shabbat as rabbis, cantors, and Jewish leaders across North America speak about and reflect upon the events in Charlottesville and their aftermath.
Seeing Through the Darkness: Inside Charlottesville’s Synagogue One Week Later
May we continue to be inspired by Congregation Beth Israel to turn darkness into light, to turn fear into resolve, to turn xenophobia into acceptance, and to turn hatred into hope.
Cold: Prayer for a Chilly Shabbat
Snow days can be fun; not so this kind of cold. It was colder in Chicago this week than it was in the North Pole.
The Challenge of Holding God Close While Keeping Fear at Bay
The poet Yehuda Amichai writes: I don’t want an invisible god... I want a god who is seen... , so I can lead him around and tell him what he doesn’t see… ... In this week’s portion, Ki Tisa, we reconnect with this unfinished storyline at the beginning of Exodus 32. While Moses tarries atop Mount Sinai, the people down below are losing their patience:
The Unique Contributions of Women and Men Are All Needed
According to Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, or Nachmanides; 1194-1270), this week’s Torah portion, Vayak’heil, is properly understood as the necessary reconciliation between the Israelite people, on one side, and God and Moses, on the other, after the devastation of the Golden Calf episode. Ramban reads the opening phrase, “Moses then convoked the whole Israelite community (Ex. 35:1), as Moses rebuilding and healing the community through the inclusion and involvement of all ...